Objective (s): Pre-term and post-term labor were among the major problems in the health system during the covid-19 pandemic in developing countries. In the epidemic of infectious diseases, including the Covid-19 pandemic, pregnant women and their fetuses are among the high-risk population. This study was conducted to investigate and compare the prevalence and factors affecting pre-term and post-term labors in the 6 months before and after the (beginning) of the covid-19 pandemic.
Methods: This comparative study was conducted on 36914 pregnant mothers in the 6 months before the covid-19 pandemic and 6039 pregnant mothers in the 6 months after the covid-19 pandemic. The information was obtained from the integrated system of the Ministry of Health. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software.
Results: The prevalence of pre-term and post-term labor in the 6 months before the covid-19 pandemic was 8.5% and 0.7%, respectively, and in the 6 months after the covid-19 pandemic began for the first time, it was 5.6% and 1.4%, respectively. In the 6 months before and after the (beginning) of the covid-19 pandemic, age, parity, gravidity, high body mass index, abortion and pregnancy interval were found to be factors affecting preterm labor (P<0.05). Parity, level of education in both periods were related to post-term labor (P<0.05). Based on the multiple regression, by controlling for possible confounders of preterm and post-term labor in the covid-19 pandemic, the prevalence of pre-term labor was decreased [OR=1.665, 95% CI: 1.395-1.988], while the prevalence of post-term labor was increased [OR=0.373, 95% CI: 0.267–0.52].
Conclusion: The findings showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on pre-term and post-term labor over a short period of 6 months compared to the previous period, reducing pre-term labor and increasing post-term labor.